Spain’s king acknowledges ‘much abuse’ in conquest of the Americas

2026.03.17 03:20 Spain’s King Felipe at the Royal Palace in Madrid last November. Photo: AFP Spain’s monarch said on Monday the Spanish conquest of the Americas included “much abuse” and “ethical controversies”, striking a conciliatory tone amid a years-long row between Spain and Mexico over colonial-era abuses committed by the Spanish crown centuries ago. King Felipe made the remarks while speaking with Mexico’s ambassador to Spain, Quirino Ordaz, during a visit to a museum exhibition in Madrid about the role of women in pre-Columbian Mexico. About the centuries-old Spanish conquest, Felipe said: “There are things that, when we study them, we come to know them, and well, with our current values, they obviously cannot make us feel proud”. “But they must be understood in their proper context, not with excessive moral presentism, but with an objective and rigorous analysis,” he said. Spain’s King Felipe receiving military honours in La Paz, Bolivia, earlier this month. Photo: AP The Bourbon king’s symbolic remarks came after years of a diplomatic spat between Spain and Mexico over the Mexican government’s demands that Spain apologise for its 1519-1521 conquest of Mexico, which resulted in the death of a large part of the country’s pre-Hispanic population. Colonial Spain ruled one of the largest empires in history with its territorial holdings spanning five continents at its peak between the 16th and 18th centuries. That included much of Central and South America. Mexico City was the seat of Spain’s colonial power in the Americas after the Spanish and their Indigenous allies toppled the Aztecs in 1521. Mexico City was built over the ruins of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. In 2019, former Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador demanded that Spain “publicly and officially” recognise the abuses committed during the conquest of Mexico in a letter sent to the Spanish king and Pope Francis. Spain refused to do so, which soured relations between the two governments.

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